Directions

1Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, using water, oil and egg. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2Meanwhile, divide coconut among five small bowls, about 1/2 cup each. Add 1 drop of red food color to one bowl and mix with a spoon. Finish mixing using your fingers to lift and gently rub coconut. Repeat for each color to make a bowl of yellow, blue, pink, green and white coconut.

3Prepare ears by stacking two of the same color gum sticks on top of each other; trim into bunny ears using kitchen shears. For the center of each ear, cut a pink stick of gum in half lengthwise, trim about half an inch off of the end to trim into ear shape. Use a little frosting to “glue” the pink centers to the white gum ears.

4To ensure that the coconut sticks to your frosting, frost one cupcake then immediately turn upside down, dipping top of the frosted cupcake into coconut. Repeat frosting and dipping for all cupcakes.

5To add the bunny features, use a toothpick to create two slits in the top of the cupcake, then insert the ears into the slits. Cut a miniature marshmallow in half. Add a dot of frosting to the cut side of the marshmallows; press onto the front of the cupcake to create the paws. Gently press a pink candy on for nose; use black decorator gel to add the eyes.

Expert Tips

It’s best to serve these immediately, however if they must be made ahead, store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Gum will melt in warm or moist conditions, so covering the cupcakes at room temperature could cause your gum ears to fall.

Before adding the eyes, gently pat down the coconut in the eye areas to give you a smooth surface to pipe onto. For “sleeping” eyes, use gel to create half circles.